Mower



C. PEARSO N Aug. 5, 1930.

MOWER Filed Sept. 13 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Juve/afar.' C/f/Q e@ 715070 Jy alf ff'l' d@ All@ 5, 1930- c. PEARsoN l 1,772,264

MOWER Filed Sept. 13 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 PEARsoN 11,772,264'

MOWER Filed Sept. 13; 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 W ff Patented Aug. 5, 19,30

UNIT-.ED STATES PATENT-former:

COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY'A A' #Y l Mownn.

. Application mea september 13,1926. 'serial No. 134,965.

This invention generally relates togmowing machines. v

At the present time the trend in modern farming operations is to rely more and more upon tractors for draft purposes, as well as 'for power operation of attached implements. This trend is especially pronounced in the present day operation of mowers. Because `0f the relatively greater power of tractors lo'as compared with draft animals, it is not surprising that the mowing operation has "been speeded up considerably. @This relatively fast passage of the mower through v .the -ield is, of course, highlydesirable, but vthis advantage has often been minimized due to the. diiliculty encountered because of ob structions, such as rocks and stumps in the ield, which the laterally extending cutter bar of the mower would strike with the ever ,present danger 'of its demolition under such conditions. c

With this general statement in mind, this invention more specifically considered, relates to a mower attachment for tractors in which the advantage of speed will be retained by providing, mower structure which will 4-overcome completely the' danger of breakage when encountering an obstruction in the fiield. 4

The primary object of this invention is to provide a mower, and particularly a mower 'attachment for a tractor, the laterallyv extending ycutter bar of which is carried on a mower frame pivotally connected to -another or rigid frame such as the drawbarof the tractor,` the pivoted mower frame vbeing llocked by a latch to the rigid frame or drawbar during normal operation, which latch mower is driven from a tractor power takef off shaft, said.shaft when the mower frame is pivoted backwardly to a predetermined angle, being automatically uncoupled to dis- 5 0 connect the mower from the tractor transinjury to the cutting mechanism. The mower however is automatically-uncoupled when then again.

mission so that the mower cannotbe driven in this unlatched osition.

Still another object is toprovide a simple and eicient mower attachment for a tractor. to be power driven therefrom and which may be easily and quickly attached and detached from the tractor.

Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in this art as the description of this improved mower proceeds. Y Y I Briefly, these very desirable objects areI accomplished in the provision of amower which has a frame and a laterally extending cutter bar, 'said frame 'being connected to the bar byy a :coupling arm, the mower frame be# ing pivotally mounted on a', rigid arame or support such as the drawbar of a tractor. Furthermore this mower frame Vis normally latched by a releasable member to the rigid frame or tractor drawbar, the same being so constructed that, when the cutter bar strikes an immovable obstruction, the cutter bar will, through the forces created by its resistance to the obstruction, act on -the coupling arm, which will operate mechanism to release the pivoted mower frame from the rigid or drawar frame, whereupon the mower attachment will bodily swin backwardly about its pivot. The cutting mec ianism ofthe mower is power driven from. the tractor transmission by means of a power take-oi shaft, and asfthe mower, after its release 'from the drawbar, swings back, the driving connection also is automatically uncoupled, thereby preventing is automatically returned to its normal position latched to the drawbar by backing the tractor toward the mower attachment; Thev tractor, of course, is immediately stopped after the bar has encountered an obstruction. lThe driving connections are splined so that it is an easy matter to connect up-the drive Reference should now be made to the `accompanying sheets of drawings, in' which, 95 Figure 1 is a plan view 'showing the improved mower construction mounted on the drawbar of a tractor with the -rear end of the tractor only being shown;

Figure 2 is a side elevationallview of the 10 same construction shown in Figure 1 as viewed along the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail view of the releasable latch mechanism, and it also shows the mower frame mounting on the tractor drawbar as seen when looking from the front toward the rear of the tractor;

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view through the releasable latch as seen along the line 4-4 in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view of the same construction asvseen along the line 5-5 in .Figure 4;

Figures 6 and 7, respectively, are plan and side views of the casting which connects the rockshaft to the latch;

Figures 8, 9 and 10, are, respectively, detail plan, front end, and side views of the latch;

Figures 11 and 12 are, respectively, plan and side views of the casting which limits the movement of the latch in one direction and supports the rock shaft; and

Figure 13 is a detail side view of the rock shaft which functions to release the latch.

Inspection of Figures 1 and 2 shows'that the illustrative embodiment of this improved mower has been shown in connection with a tractor having rear wheels 10, stub axles 1l, only one of which is shown, a differential drive shaft 12, and gear casings 13, which house gearing for connecting the shaft 12 to drive the stub axles 11 and the wheels 10. The shaft 12 is encased in a housing 14 to which is bolted centrally the dierential housing 15 in which are journaled the gears whichl drive the said shaft. Forwardly of theY housin 14 is a transmission housing 16 from whic protrudes rearwardly a power stake-olf shaft 17. Each of the casings 13 carries a gudgeon lplate 18 from which is ivotall hung the egs of a U-shaped draft Ear or e ement 19 which extends rearwardly of the tractorand is additionally supported by means of links 20 adjustabl connected in notched plates 21 bolted to t e top of the casings 13. So much of the tractor description lwill sutlice for the purpose of this disclosure.

This draft bar or element 19 forms the support which carries and connects the improved mower now to be described to the tractor. The bght .portion of the U-bar 19 has pivotally connected thereto a slightly arched bar 22 (see Figure 3) which is yieldingly pivoted to the bar 19 adjacent its lefthand side by means of the bolt 23, which is encircled by a spring 24 functioning to bear down yieldingly on the bar 22. Thls arched bar 22' which extends transversely, as can be seen, has bolted thereto at its right-hand end, by mea-ns of a bolt 25, a longitudinally extending bar or plate 26 which has its front Y end angularly upturned as shown in Figures 1 and 2. As shown in Fi res 3 and 4, it will be seen that this bolt 1s relatively short and does not pass into the draft bar 19. These bars 22 and 26 in eect constitute the mower main frame, and it will be seen that the left-hand end of the frame is pivotally connected to the draft bar 19 while the righthand end loosely rests on this draft bar.

These frame parts 22 and 26 are cross braced by a bar 27, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. Bolted on the arched plate 22, as shown in these fi ures, is a vertically disposed, intcgral castlng 28 which has two upstanding arms 29 formed thereon, and a socket 3() and another socket -31 formed therein. ln the socket there is rockably mounted a rearwardl and laterally extending coupling bar 32 which rockably carries at a point substantially rearwardly of the right end tractor wheel 10a mower coupling yoke 33 which pivotally carries a conventional mower shoe 34, and to which in turn is connected a mower cutter bar 35 to which are attached the usual guard fingers 36 between which operates the conventional cutting mechanism 37.

The cutting mechanism carries a pitman head 38. Thls pitman head 38 has connectedithereto a pitman 39, the left-hand end of which is operatively connected to a wrist pin 40 eccentrically carried on a fly wheel 41. The fly wheel 41 is carried at the rear end of a transversely disposed shaft, not shown, which passes through the socket 3l in the member 28, the shaft then extending forwardly and into the lower end of a casing 42 which is bolted to the front end of the member 28 by the bolts 43. This casing 42 encloses cut gears which are driven from a ilexible shaft 44 disposed in line horizontally with the power take-off shaft 17 protruding rearwardly from the tractor transmission. rlhe shaft 44 is made flexible by the interposition therein of the universal knuckles 45 shown, the forward one of which has a telescoping splined connection 46 to the shaft 17 en the tractor. The housing 42 is dust proof and contains a lubricant so that the gears therein may run in oil, and this oil likewise.

is distributed in practice to lubricate the shaft which carries the fly wheel 14 as well as the wrist pin 40. It can now be seen that the cutting mechanism of the mower will be reciprocated by the pitman 39 connected to the fly wheel 41 which receives its rotation lll) through the connections described from the power take-off shaft 17 of the tractor. At 47 is indicated the support on the tractor for carrying the operators seat 48, and, in view` of the fact that this seat is dis osed directly above the driving connections rom the tractor to the mower, it is advisable that a shield be provided to prevent injury to the operator from the rapidly rotating shaft 44. Accordingly the casing 42 has bolted thereto on opposite sides a U-shaped member 49 which carries a shield or hood 50 for safety purposes.

As heretofore stated, the main object of this invention was to provide a mower frame i becomes too great, it will be automatically 'detached from said support, to permit the mower frame to pivot back rearwardly oi the tractor to prevent breakage of the mower.

1- This structure will now be described.

The rear end of the plate 26V which extends slightly, back of the drat bar 19, has bolted in a position on its under side a casting 51 (see Figures 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7) which is formed with, a stubblewardly extending arm portion 52 providedwith vertical, spaced strengthening flanges 53. The main part of this casting is formed with two downwardspaced ears 54 which are provided with alined, horizontal openings 55, as shown. The arm 52 is provided with a vertical opening 56.

Another casting` 'shown in detail in Figures 11 and 12 is provided, which has a barrel portion 57 fitted between the ears 54 of the casting 51,A as shown in Figures 4 and 5. This second casting is formed with a hump 58 abutting the under side of the arm 52, and al hole 59 disposed i`n vertical alinement with the hole 56. Extending right angularly of 'the extended barrel 57, the casting is formed with an armr60 provided along its sides with depending anges 61, which portion 60 extends longitudinally forwardly beneath' the dra-ft bar 19.

Passed through the barrel portion 57 is the rear end of a rockshaft 62 which holds the ba-rreled casting between the ears 54 of the casting 51 bybeing passed through said barrel and through the holes 55 o the casting 51. The shaft 62 .lies underneath the plate 26 and extends substantially the length thereof. The rear end of the shaft 62 (see Figure 13) is provided with a hole 63 and the barreled casting with a hole 64, the two holes being alined to receive'a pin 65 for securing the said casting on said shaft.

A third casting (see Figures 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10) formed as a latch 66A is provided,the casting having a tail 67 loosely engaged-in the hump 58 underneath the arm 60 of the second casting. The latch is also formed with a. hole 68 placed in vertical alinement with the holes in the other castings, as seen in Figure 4. The latch additionally has a boss 69 and inclined latch port-ion70-ormed thereon. An upstanding headed bolt 71 and an encircling lspring 72, whose tension may be adjusted by a nut 73, yieldingly, holds all of the castings together. The spring 72 constantly exerts a force to hold the latchpart 7 0 lengaged with the drawbar 19, as shown in Figure 4. y 4

The front end of the'yoke33 of the mower is connected by a coupling arm 74 to the front end of the rockshaft 62 by means of an integral crank portion 75 Yformedon said shaft. A diagonalhrace rod 76 is' pivoted to the drawbar b the bolt 23 -and to the front end of the sha t 62, axially, by apin 77, as shown.v

The right hand corner of the draft bar 19 is provided with a connecting-plate 78for a purpose later to'appear.

The cutter bar maybe tilted by rocking the yoke 33 through the medium of a rod 79 connected to the yoke and to a lever 80 associated with a' conventional rack and detent 81 mounted on the front end of the plate 26.

It can now be seen that when the cutter bar strikes an immovable obstruction a pull will be exertedon the coupling arm 74 to rock the shaft 62, which will cause the latch 66 and-its part 7 0 to be disengaged from the Y drawbar 19, whereupon the entire mower frame with the cutter bar will swing angularly, rearwardly, in a horizontal plane, aboutthe pivot polnt 23, as shown in the dotted line position of the mower in Figure 1.

O course, means has been provided for l raising the cutter bar upwardly from its normal cutting position so that relatively slight obstructions may be passed without releasing the latch mechanism. This lift mechanism will now be described.

It will be remembered thatV the .casting 28 A brace 86 connects saidflever with the pin i 84 and a second brace 87 connects the lever with the pin 82. The lever carries a pivoted hook 88` which may engage over a flange 89 formed on the ear casing,42. AThe hook may be controlled y any suitable form 'of detent link 90. When the hook 88 is latched onthe gear housing the cutter bar is adjusted vertically to intermediate lift position, which' is useful when tions.

rihe arch at its upper end'carries a bent piece 91 one end of which iscconnected by a link 92 to a pull link 93 attachedto-the'cutter bar and the other end of the piece 91 is con nected by a link 94` to the coupling yoke 33 at its back side.

passing over slight obstruclin Thus, it can be seen thatV slight forward movement of the lever-willv give a plain lift pf the cutter bar suiiicient to. permit the bar to pass slight obstructions. For absolute ver- 'tical lift the lever 85 will be iirst moved forwardly unt-il the hook 88 locks over the ilange 89 on the gear casing. The link 92 `is then disconnected from the pull link 93 so that the link 94 must support the cutter bar alone inthis intermediate position. They operator then lifts the cutter bar manually to vertical position and passes the link 92 through a hole in the cutter bar not shown) intermediately of its length, where the link will be fastened in any suitable manner to provide a support for retaining the bar in absolute vertical position as when it is desired to transport the mower.

The operation of the mower can 110W be described. First we have the support for the mower, which in the present case is the tractor and particularly the draft element 19. At its left end this draft bar pivotally carries the mower frame which comprises, in the main, the plate 22 coincident with and on the draft bar, and t-he forwardly extending plate 26. This mower frame carries all of the lever adjusting mechanisms for tilting and Vertically adjusting the cutter bar.

The cutter bar is connected to the pivoted mower frame in a manner to extend laterally of the rear end of the tractor. The coupling arm 74 of the mower is connected to the front end of the rockshaft, so that the shaft will be rocked when a force sufficiently great acts on the cutter bar, such as would be exerted when the cut-ter bar runs into a tree or stump. Rocking of the shaft 62 will swing the barreled casting on the rear end of the shaft. the extended arm of this casting acting like a crank to push down on the tail 67 and boss 69 of the latch 66 against the predetermined resistance of the spring 72 surrounding the bolt 71, which bolt passes through the castings at this point loosely to give the requisite play. Thus, the arm 60 of the barreled casting disengages the latch part 70 from the draft bar 19, with the result that the entire mower frame and cutter bar will pivot back angularly in a horizontal plane, as clearly indicated in the dotted line position of Figure 1. This movement in no way interferes with the lever adjustments, as all of this adjusting mechanism is mounted on the mower frame and swings with it.

As for the driving mechanism, when the mower frame has been released, the universal knuckles 45 permit of a slight angular displacement of said frame before the splined part 46 will disengage the take-ofil shaft 17. If the angular displacement of the frame is greater than the knuckles will allow, then the drive will be disconnected and operation of the cutting mechanism will cease. By this' time the driver of the tractor has stopped the tractor and injury to the mower has been effectually prevented.

It will be remembered that the spring 72 constantly exerts a force to pull the latch 66 up. When unlatched from the draft bar 19 this upward tendency of the latch isrestrained by the arm 60 of the barreled casting. This is important, for it'makes'a-utomatic connection of the mower frame to the support after it has been uncoupled practicable and possible. This is'accomplished by backing the tractor angular-ly toward the uncoupled mower frame, with the result that the latch is held in a position easily to engage the draft bar frame back onto the draft bar as will be understood. The splined part 46, ofcourse, must be connected manually to the take-off shaft 17 before the cutting mechanism can again be operated, but this is a simple matter, taking but a moment, as will be obvious. The plate 7 8 helps support the front end of the rockshaft 62 and aids return of the mower frame after it has been displaced. This plate thus performs a guiding function.

Vith this detailed description, it can now be seen that all of the desirable objects heretofore mentioned are achieved, and that the structure for accomplishing these objects is simple'and veryv effective for the purposes intended, with no great likelihood that anything will get out of order. It should be understood that only an illustrative embodiment of this invention has been disclosed and that the same may assume other forms in practice without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as indicated in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a support, a mower including a frame pivotally connected to the support, said Amower 'including a driving mechanism, means for automatically causing angular displacement of the mower and frame -with respect to the support when an obstruction is encountered, and disconnectible means for stopping the driving mechanism as the mower is displaced.

2. The combination with a tractor having a draw element, of a mower having a frame connected to said element to be angularly displaceable with respect lthereto, and means for displacing said frame when the mower strikes an obstruction.

3. The combination with a tractor having a draw-element, of a mower having a frame, means for connecting said frame to the element in a manner to be angularly displace,- able with respect thereto, and means for causing said frame to be so displaced in a horizontal plane.

4. The combination with a tractor having a draw-bar, of a frame carried by the bar, a cutter bar connected to and extending laterally from the frame, and a coupling arm connecting the cutter bar and frame.

5. The combination with a tractor having a draw-bar, of a mower frame pivotally supported by the drawbar, a cutter bar pivoted to the frame, and a coupling arm connecting the cutter bar and frame.

6. The combination with a tractor having a draw-bar, of a mower frame pivotally supported by the draw bar, a cutter bar connected to the frame, and means engaging the drawbar for normally retaining the frame against pivotal movement to hold the cutter bar-in a laterally extending position with respect to the tractor.

7. The combination with a ltractor having'v draw bar at another point, and means yfor re` leasing the frame to swing rearwardly when the mower strikes an obstruction.

9. The combination with a tractor having a drawbar, of a mower'including a frame pivotally connected to the drawbar at one point, means detachably securing the frame to the draw bar at another point, a rockl shaft carried on the frame, and means for operating said shaft to release the detachable means when the mower strikes an obstruction to cause the frame to swing rearwardly.

10. The combination with a tractor having a drawbar, of amower including a frame pivotally mounted on the draw-bar, means for locking the frame to the draw bar to hold the mower laterally in cutting position, and pullmeans controlled by the mower when it strikes an obstruction for releasing'the locking means, whereby the mower and frame mayswing rearwardly of the tractor.

` 11. The combination with a tractor having a draw bar, of a mower including a frame pivoted on the draw bar, a cutter bar extending laterally of the frame, a latch for securing the Jframe to the draw bar to hold the cutter bar laterally in cutting position, a

rcckshaft for controlling the latch, and a` coupling arm connected to the cutter bar and rock shaft, whereby when the cutter bar strikes on obstruction the'shaft will be rocked to release'the frame from thedraw bar to cause it to swing with thecutter bar rearwardly of the tractor'.

12. The combination with a tractor having a vdraw bar, of fa mower including a frame pivoted onthe draw bar, v a cutter bar extending laterally of the frame, a spring pressed latch for locking thel Tframe to the draw bar to hold the cutter bar laterally in its cutting position, and means connecting the latch to the cutter bar, whereby when the cutter bar is subjected to. a predetermined force the latch will be released from the draft bar to cause the rameto'v swing with the cutter bar rearwardlyof the'tractor. f

- 13. The combination with atractor Vhaving-- a draw bar, of a. mower including a frame pivotallymounted on the drawbar and a. cutting mechanism extending ,laterally of the frame and tractor, driving means for thecutting mechanism, means ,for causing said mower to swing back when the same strikes an obstruction, and means for stopping the;

driving mechanism when the mower swings back.

14, The combination with a tractor having'- a draw element, of a frame pivoted tothe draw element, acutter bar including a. cut- I ting mechanism connected to the frame and extendin laterally thereof, a-driving connection rom the tractor for operating said cutting mechanism, means for causing the frame to swing rearwardly with respect to the draw element when the cutter bar strikes an obstruction, and means whereby the cutting meehanism is stopped when the frame swings rearwardly a predetermined distance.

15. The combination with a tractor having a power take-ofi'.l shaft and a draw bar, of a frame pivoted to the draw bar, a cutter bar including cutting mechanism connected Ito and extending laterally of the frame, driving means for the cuttingmechanism carried on the frame vembod'yin tion to said take-oli, an means for causing .the frame to swing backwardly ofthe draw vbar when the cutter bar strikes'an obstruction, said splined connection being disconnected from the take-olf shaft when the frame has swung back a predetermined distance to stop the cuttin mechanism.

16. The com inationwith a tractor having a draw bar, of a mower including a frame pivotally connected at one pointto the draw bar' and at another point releasably connected to the draw bar, means for releasing said frame when the mower strikes an' obstruction whereby it may swing` back to the rear of the tractor, and means for automatically connecting the frame to the draw bar again by backing the. tractor.

17. The combination of a ,tractor and a mower .pivotally connected at one point and releasably connected at another point to the tractor, means for disconnecting the releasahle .connection of the' mower automatically 18. The' combinationv with a tractorv hav- 'ing a drawbar at its rear, of a mower includa splined connec- A ing a frame pivotally connected to said drawbar, a coupling bar rockably mounted on the frame, a coupling yoke rockably mountedl on the coupling bar, a cutter barV pivotedto the yoke, means releasably connecting one end of the mower frame to the drawbar ree mote from its pivotalconnection to said leo drawbar, and means connected to the yoke for transmitting a force to cause release of said releasable means when the cutter bar Aencounters an obstruction to cause the mower a frame ivotally connected at one point to the draw ar and releasably connected to the drawbar at another point, a coupling yoke for the mower, means for releasing the releasable connection, and means connected to said coupling yoke ,for operating the releas- 4Jat ing meanswhen the mower strikes 'an obstruction to cause the mower frame to pivot back rearwardl 20. The com ination with a tractor havinga drawbar at its rear end, of a mower including'a frame having a lateral part and a long1tudinal part, said frame being pivotally connected at one point to the drawbar and releasably connected to the drawbar at another point, a coupling yoke for the mower, and releasing means for the releasable connection of the frame, said releasing means carried by the longitudinal part of the frame and connected to the mower coupling yoke.

21. The combination with a tractor having a drawbar at its rear, of a mower having a rame pivotally connected at one part and releasably connected at another part to the drawbar, a cutting mechanism for the mower, means on the frame adapted to be driven from the tractor for driving the cutting mechanism, pull means controlled by the mower when it strikes an obstruction for causing release of the releasable connection to cause the frame to swing back rearwardly on its pivot, and extensible connections between the tractor and driven means on the frame whereby said driven'l means may swing with the frame. y

22 The combination with a tractor having driving mechanism and a support, of a mower including a frame pivotally mounted on the support, a cutter bar and cutting lmechanism extending in normal cutting posit-ion. laterally of the frame, a releasable connection for holdin the frame to keep lthe cutter bar and mec anism in such position, gearing on the frame for operating the cutting mechanism, said gearing adapted to be driven from the tractor driving mechanism, levers on the frame'for adjusting the cutter bar, and ull means operable when the cutter bar strikes an obstruction to cause disconnection of the 'releasable connection' to cause the frame and entire mower'structure including gearing, levers and cutter bar to swing back rearwardly on the support.

23. A mower attachment for a tractor, said attachment comprising a support eonnectible with the tractor, a mower frame pivotally connected to the support, a releasable conconnected to the drawbar at one point andV releasably connected to the drawbar at another point, a rearwardly and laterally extending coupling bar pivotally supported on the frame for Vvertical swinging movement.,

Ia coupling yoke rockably carried by said bar,

a cutter bar connected to the yoke, and pull means for transmitting force when the bar encounters an obstruction to effect release of the frame to cause the same with the coupling bar, yoke and cutter bar to swing rearwardly.

25. The combination with a tractor having a drawbar, of a mower frame hingedly carried on the drawbar, a vyieldable latch for releasably connecting the frame to the drawbar, a coupling bar carried by the frame, a yoke carried by the bar, a cutter bar connected to the yoke, and a rod for transmitting force exerted by the cutter bar when it encounters an obstruction to cause the latch to be released to free the frame and mover structure for hinging movement.

26. The combination with a support, of a frame hingedly connected thereto for swinging movement in a horizontal plane, a releasable latch for normally connecting the frame to the support to prevent such swinging movement, a cutter bar, and means for connecting the cutter b'ar to the frame to swing therewith, said latchbeing releasable when the bar encounters an obstruction to cause hinging movement of the frame and mower structure relative to the support,v

27. In combination, a tractor provided with a support, a mower frame pivotally con nected to the support an'd normally extending transversely relative thereto. a cutter bar including a sickle connected to the frame and normally'extending transversely als a continuation of the frame,.a pitman driven from the tractor for operating the sickle, and a releasable connection whereby the frame, pitman and cutter bar may swing from the normal transverse position to a position rearwardly of the tractor ,when the cutter bar encounters an obstruction.

28. In combination, a tractor provided with a support, a mower including a. frame. pitmanand cutter bar structure comprising a mower unit pivotally connected to the support and normally held extended in a transverse direction with respect to the support,

and means whereby the mower unit may be released when an obstruction is encountered to free the same Jfor movement about its pivotal connection to a position rearwardly of the tractor Aand support. l

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

' CHARLES PEARSON. 

